


From the Rooftops

by JayRain



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Bets & Wagers, Declarations Of Love, M/M, Skyhold
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-01
Updated: 2017-11-01
Packaged: 2019-01-28 02:37:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12596256
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JayRain/pseuds/JayRain
Summary: Theo knows better than to bet against Dorian; when he loses a game of chess he must do whatever Dorian asks.  Who knew Dorian would ask him to dothis?From a writing prompt game in the Dragon Age Fanfiction Writers and Readers group.





	From the Rooftops

“You’re serious, aren’t you.”

“I told you not to bet against me.”  Dorian’s grey eyes sparkled and the corner of his mouth twitched as he tried to hide his grin.  “Besides,  _ Amatus _ , this is your chance to prove just how serious  _ you _ are.”

Theo skirted around the small table with the chessboard, with his king in checkmate thanks to Dorian’s skillful navigation.  He straddled Dorian’s lap and draped his arms over his shoulders.  “Because I don’t show you on a daily… no, no,  _ hourly _ basis just how serious I am?”  He leaned in and kissed Dorian.  Dorian wrapped his arms around Theo’s waist and returned the kiss, then pulled back.

“Of course you do, love, but a bet’s a bet, and you’re not going to distract me, regardless of how much I enjoy your ministrations.”  Dorian brushed Theo’s hair off his forehead.  “Are you... _ blushing? _ ” he asked, his smile spreading.

“Why are you always so surprised?” Theo asked.  His blush spread and he gave Dorian one last peck on the cheek before climbing off his lap.  He sat on the foot of the bed and pulled on his boots, conscious of Dorian’s intense and intelligent gaze on him.  He didn’t look over though, intent on letting Dorian watch.  A bet was a bet, after all.

Theo shrugged into his coat and wound a woolen scarf about his neck.  Dorian shifted, sitting up straighter.  “Wait, you’re serious, aren’t you.”

“Oh, so now you admit that I called your bluff,” Theo teased, doing up a few buttons.  “Are you coming along, or not?”  He pulled another warm scarf from the wall hook and tossed it at Dorian, who caught it easily.  “I know it’s not ten silk scarves, but at least it’s a bit warmer,” he added.  “Though maybe later we could…”

“Now you’re just being cruel,  _ Amatus _ .”  Dorian got to his feet and found heavy black fur-lined cloak, which he draped about his shoulders and clasped in in front of him.  

“Never.”  Theo took the scarf from Dorian’s hand and wound it around his neck, pulling the ends gently to tug Dorian into another quick kiss before grabbing his hand and leading him down the stairs from their quarters.  

The late afternoon often led to a lull in activity in the great hall, as people finished their business and retired to prepare for dinner.  Theo loved these times most, when he could dash through the halls, lighthearted and free, without people pausing to ask for favors or pose questions he worried about forgetting.  And when Dorian could be with him, keeping pace with his midnight-black cloak sweeping out behind him, amused, curious, and dashing with his slightly tousled hair, even better.

Theo took the steps to the library two at a time.  His pulse fluttered when he thought about what he was about to do.  He glanced back at Dorian, who took the stairs at a more dignified pace, cloak floating behind him, grey eyes shimmering with curiosity.  Even if Dorian  _ had  _ really been bluffing, calling his bluff was delightful.  It was hard to miss the hint of a smile as he tried to appear long-suffering and patient with his  _ Amatus _ , and when Theo saw Dorian like this it gave him a rush of pride and glee all over again.  Which was to say, Theo often felt this way.

When Dorian joined him Theo grabbed his hand again and led him to the stairwell for the rookery.  Their breath steamed in the chill, and as they reached the top, the ravens cawed sharply in their cages.  Leliana was nowhere to be seen, which made Theo’s pulse pound faster; he hadn’t been looking forward to explaining anything to her.

He navigated his way around the cages, making for the door at the back of the room.  It was locked, but that was never a problem for him.  He slipped the thin metal tools out of the hidden sleeve inside his belt and got to work.  “You realize I could trip the lock with just the slightest tendril of mana,” Dorian said, just as the lock clicked and Theo turned his head to grin at him.

“Or you could let me work my own magic while you get to watch me on my knees,” he said with a shrug.

“Now you’re definitely being cruel.”

Theo opened the door to the biting cold, pink-violet mountain twilight.  The wind pushed his hair back and caught the ends of his scarf.  His cheeks turned pink and his eyes watered with the cold.  He rested a hand on the ladder leading up to the highest lookout tower Skyhold boasted. He started to climb.  He paused to look down and see Dorian warily eyeing the ladder.  “It’s quite sturdy, but if you want to stay there I understand.  You’ll probably be able to hear me,” he added with a grin.

Dorian raised an eyebrow.  “Over this wind?  Please.  I need to be certain you’ve fulfilled all terms of our arrangement.”  He took hold of the rungs.

Theo climbed to the top and knelt down, holding his hand out for Dorian.  Dorian reached the landing; his nose was already red and he shivered in spite of his heavy cloak.  “Quite the view,” Theo said, surveying his surroundings.  “I’ve never been up here.”

“And now you’re here with me.”  Dorian wrapped his arms around Theo and rested his chin on Theo’s shoulder.  He pulsed a bit of warming magic into the both of them.

The sharp peaks of the Frostback mountains surged up around them and stretched for miles in all directions.  The pale moons were visible in the twilight, and a couple of the brighter stars winked against the purple.  A dizzying drop below, Skyhold went about its business, unaware of the Inquisitor looming over them.

Theo cleared his throat and stood up straighter.  He took a deep breath and exhaled.  He gave Dorian a bright-eyed grin before looking back over the courtyards of Skyhold.  He flung his arms wide.  “ _ I AM MADLY IN LOVE WITH DORIAN PAVUS!” _

His voice may have echoed off the mountains had there not been wind, but he shouted it as loudly as he could, and his expression was one of wild, joyful abandon.  Theo turned to Dorian and caught him in his arms, pressing his lips to Dorian’s.  The kiss was cold at first, but warmed up rapidly.  He held Dorian’s face between his hands, caught in the cold and the wind and the excitement of the unexpected.

At last he pulled back, breathless from cold and the kissing.  “Have I fulfilled the terms?” he asked.

Dorian reached over and wiped a tear from Theo’s cheek.  “You make me want to bet you’ll lose to me at chess on a regular basis.”

Theo wrapped him in a hug.  “You didn’t have to bet me,” he confessed.  “I once swore I’d shout from the rooftops how much I love you.  Though the bet  _ did _ add an element of fun to it.”

They climbed down the ladder, and their trek back through Skyhold was far more relaxed.  “You certainly are full of surprises,  _ Amatus, _ ” Dorian told him at last.

Theo grinned.  “So what do I have to bet to get  _ you _ to admit  _ that _ from the rooftops?”


End file.
